Patronal Feast of Santa Maria Assunta (with the Flight of the Angel)

The Patronal Feast of Casandrino

Every year, during the final week of August, the municipality of Casandrino in the metropolitan city of Naples honors its patron saint, Maria Santissima Assunta. It is the most cherished event of the year for the local community—a festival that weaves together Campanian popular faith and ancient traditions, drawing back emigrants and families from across the Naples area.

The Legend of the White Oxen

According to local lore, the statue of the Madonna was discovered by a farmer near Lake Patria. He loaded it onto a cart pulled by a pair of strictly white oxen, intending to leave it wherever the animals chose to stop. Exhausted, the oxen halted in this small rural village, which is now home to the parish church built in the late 17th century. Since then, every year, the statue is carried in procession on a triumphal cart pulled by two white oxen through streets adorned with drapes and greenery.

The Flight of the Angel

The most anticipated and dramatic moment of the festival is the Flight of the Angel, held in Piazza Umberto I. A young girl, dressed in white with a golden cape, is suspended by a system of ropes and pulleys operated by a team of men, "flying" over the crowd to pay homage to the Virgin. It is a deeply moving tradition that captivates both young and old, filling the town's main square every year.

Program and Atmosphere

The festivities span several days, alternating between religious observance and popular celebration:

• Solemn liturgical services and Holy Mass in the parish church dedicated to the Assunta;
• The procession of the Madonna's statue pulled by white oxen on the last Sunday of August;
• The traditional Flight of the Angel in Piazza Umberto I;
• Evening concerts and musical performances, with artistic illuminations lining the town center;
• Food stalls featuring Campanian specialties and traditional sweets;
• Grand fireworks displays that, by custom, announce the festival to neighboring towns.

A Campanian Tradition

The Assunta Feast of Casandrino is much more than a religious anniversary: it is a collective ritual that strengthens the identity of an entire community in the province of Naples. A month before the event, a religious service involving the raising of two flags depicting the Madonna announces the approaching festival. For those visiting Campania in late August, it is a unique opportunity to discover one of the most authentic and well-attended patronal feasts in the region.